Russell's issues at the QB position were not all simply a byproduct of being lazy. People seem to forget that. Even with an amazing work ethic, at 28 years old his physical skills are probably already deteriorated to an extent by doing nothing but sit, get fat, and do purple drank for 3 years. He's probably less mobile than he was and his arm likely is a bit weaker. Now on top of getting into NFL caliber shape he has to fix is accuracy issues, improve his mechanics, fix his fumbling issues, and learn how to stop making terrible decisions in a very short window of time. All this on top of learning a new system and building the trust of a locker room that will likely never respect him.

The Jamarcus comeback will materialize into nothing. The guy is done, and this supposed upside that he still possesses probably doesn't exist anymore.

Russell's issues at the QB position were not all simply a byproduct of being lazy. People seem to forget that. Even with an amazing work ethic, at 28 years old his physical skills are probably already deteriorated to an extent by doing nothing but sit, get fat, and do purple drank for 3 years. He's probably less mobile than he was and his arm likely is a bit weaker. Now on top of getting into NFL caliber shape he has to fix is accuracy issues, improve his mechanics, fix his fumbling issues, and learn how to stop making terrible decisions in a very short window of time. All this on top of learning a new system and building the trust of a locker room that will likely never respect him.

The Jamarcus comeback will materialize into nothing. The guy is done, and this supposed upside that he still possesses probably doesn't exist anymore.

This is pretty identical to several posts I made the last time this was brought up and its so god damn true.

Also if by "alot of teams are monitoring his comeback" that scout means some teams read about it on yahoo sports and sent it around the league email as a joke, then yes I would agree that alot of teams are monitoring the Jamarcus come back.

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Originally Posted by WMD

Jesse realizing Walt was Santa Claus could really shake things up.

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Originally Posted by gpngc

I don't know how old you are, but if you can get to 24/25 without getting arrested or killed, you've done well for yourself lol.

Oakland was the worse possible destination for Russell, I think it destroyed him. He needed to be on a team that had discipline and stability.
If he has indeed lost the necessary weight, he could recover his career but he has a ways to go.
Cincy and Buffalo would be 2 solid destinations for him. Cincy has a solid track record for resurrecting careers and he could sit for a year to get back into football condition.
Buffalo needs a QB with a huge arm because of the winds at their stadium and their fans might be patient with an athlete who needs some time to get up to snuff.

Russell's issues at the QB position were not all simply a byproduct of being lazy. People seem to forget that. Even with an amazing work ethic, at 28 years old his physical skills are probably already deteriorated to an extent by doing nothing but sit, get fat, and do purple drank for 3 years. He's probably less mobile than he was and his arm likely is a bit weaker. Now on top of getting into NFL caliber shape he has to fix is accuracy issues, improve his mechanics, fix his fumbling issues, and learn how to stop making terrible decisions in a very short window of time. All this on top of learning a new system and building the trust of a locker room that will likely never respect him.

The Jamarcus comeback will materialize into nothing. The guy is done, and this supposed upside that he still possesses probably doesn't exist anymore.

In short: the cynic in me agrees with you. But -

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Originally Posted by Iamcanadian

Oakland was the worse possible destination for Russell, I think it destroyed him. He needed to be on a team that had discipline and stability.

Does anyone want to dispute this? He literally got drafted by the one team who was willing to draft a player basically purely for their measurables. We know that's the one thing that wasn't a problem for JaMarcus. It was everything else, and everything else is what Oakland specialized in ignoring. Oakland was a bad situation from the start, and I absolutely believe the support structure for a 21-22 year old kid coming out of college into the world of highly-paid athletes is super important. I don't feel like he got that in Oakland. You always heard crazy stories coming out of that organization. Assistant coaches getting their jaws broken at team meetings? I mean, come on.

Quote:

If he has indeed lost the necessary weight, he could recover his career but he has a ways to go.
Cincy and Buffalo would be 2 solid destinations for him. Cincy has a solid track record for resurrecting careers and he could sit for a year to get back into football condition.
Buffalo needs a QB with a huge arm because of the winds at their stadium and their fans might be patient with an athlete who needs some time to get up to snuff.

No doubt he has a ton of work to do, still, and importantly will have to KEEP working, but I'm willing to give people second chances. JaMarcus knows he's aging, that his opportunity to play in the NFL is about to close. I think life experience can motivate people. Am I vouching for his character? No. Am I interested in taking a look at what he can do? If we're going to be honest, he really was one of the most physically impressive QB prospects ever. Some might feel I'm stretching this too far, but he's sort of the pocket-passer version of Michael Vick. Maybe he never should've gone as high as he did, but he's skilled enough that I think a team could plan around him and take advantage of his strengths, and realistically, if he does get back in shape, he could easily have another 7 years to play in the NFL. He's not a running back; he never relied on his speed, and arm strength doesn't diminish nearly as quickly, and he has plenty anyways. It's easy to hate on the guy, but if I was running a team that needed quarterback help, I see no reason why I shouldn't bring him in and see how he looks throwing the ball and how he acts around the team. If he's got it together, why not sign him? He can throw it all the way down the field. Maybe you sign him as a backup, but there are always jobs for those guys, too. Maybe he's not ever going to be the face of a franchise, but I definitely think he's got more value than some people here are willing to grant.

Fun fact, though, just for what it's worth - his third and final season in Oakland earned him a -1 AV rating from pro-football-reference, and I don't think I've ever seen a negative rating before. Haha. Don't want anyone to take me for an apologist, or someone who's trying to say, "He wasn't THAT BAD in Oakland." Because he was. But Mike Williams was pretty bad in Detroit, and I saw what he did in Seattle after people had been calling him fat and washed out for years. It can happen. A player can get some redemption. Maybe Jamarcus never starts a full season again, but maybe he comes in for an injured starter and allows a team to stay in the game. There's surely value in that.

It would be scary to see Russell on a team with a good QB coach if he really has grown up. I've seen him throwing the ball recently and his arm is still an elite one. His accuracy will likely pick up from working on his mechanics. I would definitely consider him to be a camp arm for a veteran minimum paycheck. He's far more likely to make the team than some random QB from college that has no arm.

If you are Cleveland, what does it hurt than to have Russel and Weeden compete for the job? (Especially after one of Weeden's former college coaches said he doesn't love the film room)